noun [from geography and Shakespeare, 2005] 1. A small forest of words in the great metropolis of Brooklyn 2. A collection of ruminations, photographs, and lists on topics including (but not limited to) books, writing, movies, television, theatre, current events, publishing, food, and nonsense 3. The blog of Cheryl Klein, reader, writer, children's books editor, and busy lady about town

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Bob Herbert's column today pretty much sums up everything I think about Sarah Palin: decent woman, nice family, but based on all available evidence, absolutely not ready to be president. (Need more evidence? Check out this open letter from a Wasilla, AK, resident, which has been repeatedly verified; that link includes some minor corrections to the original e-mail.) I understand totally how Governor Palin appeals to working moms across the U.S. -- she reminds me a lot of all the sports and church moms I knew in the Midwest (including my own, in her multitasking and balancing of work and family life). But as many commentators have pointed out, I don't want someone "just like me" to be President of the United States (or in line to it); I want someone smarter than I am, better informed, more articulate, more creative and thoughtful when it comes to policy, better able to understand, consider, and integrate multiple viewpoints, all that. And I have seen no evidence that Sarah Palin is any of those things.

(Plus, as I understand it, George W. Bush got elected because he was "just like us," and based on the evidence of the last eight years, that is the worst reason to pick someone for president EVER.)

And of course what is really awful about this is what it shows us about John McCain's judgement -- that he would pick someone who has apparently never thought deeply about foreign or domestic policy, who doesn't even agree with all of McCain's own policies, to be #2 in line for the most influential job on Earth. "Lose a war to win an election"? McCain seems not to care about the world if he can win the election. Oy.

Apologies at the slight tone of hysteria there. This election is making me crazy, like a really good, suspenseful, character-driven novel that I never want to end because I'm loving the drama (and afraid of the ending), but I also desperately want to finish (with a happy ending) so I can have my life back. It's Life As We Knew It or The Hunger Games or Bleak House or The Subtle Knife -- though thank God it's not any of those really -- but the consequences of the conflict are real, and the chance that the person I regard as the antagonist might triumph is nerve-wracking. The Palin pick was a brilliant plot twist on John McCain's part, I have to say; and now we're all awaiting the four big battles -- the debates* -- before the final climax.

Lastly, I just finished reading All the President's Men, the fascinating definitive account of the Watergate investigation, and I was startled to come across these lines from a Nixon White House aide: "We believe that the public believes that the Eastern press really is what Agnew said it was -- elitist, anti-Nixon, and ultimately pro-McGovern." "Elitist" -- just the label the Republicans seek to apply to the press and Obama now. (The new book Nixonland is all about this, according to reviews I've read.) It worked in the 1970s, and it keeps working, I imagine because the part of the brain that feels it's been insulted, the short-term hurt, floods out the part of the brain that is able to reason and think long-term. I felt that happening to me when I listened to Ms. Palin's unnecessarily nasty speech** at the Republican National Convention: The part of my brain that objected to her lies and insults flooded the part of my brain that would have said, "I'm rubber and you're glue and how about an actual policy proposal, please?" That's what Barack needs to do in the debates, particularly if McCain goes after the patriotism nonsense again; that's what all of us need to do, keeping our eyes on the changes we really need given the challenges we face, and which candidate has proven to have the vision and character to make them.___________________________* And oh man, am I excited for the debates. A full schedule here.** Best line I read about her speech: "Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor."

13 comments:

As someone who has been without health insurance for many years now, and sees inflation eroding my husband's fixed income, I am glued to this election as I have never been before.

I am also terrified of the outcome. Even toying with the idea of moving to some other country; if McCain and Palin win. I cannot take four more years. But, since I am "foreign language" challenged, that may be out of the question.

Cheryl! I love this blog so hard. Thanks for the links. .We're trying not to go nuts here too and it's so hard to get unbiased information. I've taken to reading foreign news sources, BBC, Jerusalem Post and The Australian just to see what the rest of the world thinks. There is so much propaganda flying around!.I've also noticed there is a big divide in families. Almost all my Jon Stewart watching friends dread talking to their Fox News watching parents. Thanksgiving is NOT going to be fun this year..Of all the internet news grazing that I've been bloating myself on there was one well thought out article that really stood out... .ON WHAT MAKES PEOPLE VOTE REPUBLICAN? By Jonathan Haid.http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/haidt08/haidt08_index.html.I do recommend reading it, if only for glimmers of insight into what makes Americans tick. It helped me understand, even if I do not agree with, the reasons someone might choose the needs of the many even if means sacrificing the rights of the few..Keep using your superpowers for good!.Marilyn...PS Heidi8 - That was hysterical. I will not tell lies....

I agree with your assessment; what's really disturbing is that so many Americans seem to be enthralled by her. Is it foolish to believe that Obama's good sense and judgement will prevail over McCain's hardball tactics? I guess I'd rather be foolish than vote Republican...

Beautiful post, Cheryl. The more I learn about this woman, the more I want to dig my nails into her beehive. What good is a woman on the ticket if she's not going to give an iceberg about women's issues? And seriously-- she knows foreign policy because she's near to Russia? Well then, having grown up in Cleveland, I'm sure I'm just as ready to run a steel plant, own a sports team, and invade Canada.

(I also feel more qualified to be VP because I watch The West Wing on dvd, but that's a whole 'nother kettle of fish)

Tell me, please, just exactly what good sense and judgement does Obama possess off the teleprompter? His choice of a runningmate, Mr. Biden, seems to think that the beginning of the Great Depression was addressed by Herbert Hoover (wasn't it Franklin Roosevelt?) on television (which didn't exist at the time), and that is just an example of his 'expertise' on American History.... How are women's issues so pertinent to the betterment of America and the world that the White House must address them? Have you thoroughly researched what your healthcare would be like if you did move to another country? What did you read about Palin's governing style that makes you question her character? And were you so afraid of the outcome of this election before she was chosen as McCain's runningmate?

I have been following this election campaign closely since this time last year, which was about the time I became a supporter of Mr. Obama. I think his choice of Mr. Biden as a running mate is actually a perfect example of his good sense and judgment: He recognized that he would need a strong ally in the Senate to get domestic legislation passed, as well as someone who could shore up his relative inexperience on foreign policy, and Mr. Biden (longtime Senator and chair of the Foreign Relations committee) perfectly fills both those slots. In other words, Mr. Obama looked at his weak places and found an adviser/partner who could address them, which demonstrates self-knowledge, humility, and wisdom. And while Mr. Biden may occasionally make gaffes of terminology or history, Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin have each committed their own howlers -- for instance, in tonight's debate, Mr. McCain misidentified the new president of Pakistan, who will have to be an important ally to the new president's administration. Mr. McCain's own choice of Ms. Palin says worrisome things about HIS judgment to me, because as nice as she may be, all of her interviews have demonstrated that she is not intellectually ready to be the president of the United States -- frequently repeating lines and catchphrases that have apparently been fed to her, without showing any grasp of the issues or clear independent thought. And I think you'd agree our president needs both.

I didn't bring up women's issues in my post, but as women constitute 50% (more or less) of the United States, I would say issues relevant to us and our children are also relevant to the well-being of the country and the world. As for health care, I didn't bring that up either, but while those of us who can afford it receive excellent health care, our system as a whole is incredibly inefficient (health care takes 16 cents out of every dollar in the U.S. economy, as opposed to just 8 cents in Japan and 11 cents in Germany) and 40 million Americans aren't insured. That seems worth fixing to me.

As for Ms. Palin's governing style: She has been extremely secretive (conducting state business through personal e-mail accounts, for example), two-faced (for the Bridge to Nowhere until she was against it), and inclined to wield the powers of her public office against private enemies or for her private religious beliefs (cf. the ongoing Troopergate investigation and inquiry about banning books as mayor) -- all of which sound very much like our current president to me. She also drove Wasilla deep into debt during her term as mayor, and requested and received millions in earmarks as both mayor and governor.

And yes, I was still worried about the outcome of the election before she was chosen. But now I'm petrified, first because John McCain is clearly prone to rash dramatic action over reasoned judgment, and I don't want that in a president; and second because I don't want there to be any chance for Ms. Palin to become president.

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Ten things I love: Books, trees, stars, roasted vegetables, "Singin' in the Rain," medium-tip blue rollerball pens, oatmeal, community, Scrabble, and my tall black boots.
All opinions expressed here are solely my own and should not be taken as those of the company for which I work.

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Text and most photos copyright (c) 2003, 2005-2015 by Cheryl B. Klein. All opinions expressed here are solely my own and should not be taken to reflect the opinions or official positions of the company for which I work. Thanks for reading!